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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23848390">please don't say you love me</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkaterade/pseuds/captainkaterade'>captainkaterade</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Action &amp; Romance, Action/Adventure, Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Attempt at Humor, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Bucky Barnes Recovering, Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers Feels, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Hurt Bucky Barnes, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots in Love, Loss of Parent(s), POC Wanda Maximoff, Sassy, Slow Romance, Some Descriptions of Violence, also let's go lesbians!!, as she should be, buck is kind of an asshole, idiots to lovers, minor mental health elements, nat &amp; sharon are a power couple, oc is kind of a bitch, tony stark is a dad, truly everyone needs a hug in this fic</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 20:42:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23848390</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkaterade/pseuds/captainkaterade</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>She didn't want any of this.<br/>She didn't want to be at the Avengers compound.<br/>She didn't want to "discover herself".<br/>And she sure as hell didn't want to deal with some asshole who insisted on making it known how much he didn't want there as well. </p>
<p>But things never happen the way one wants them to. Right?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers, Pepper Potts/Tony Stark, Sharon Carter/Natasha Romanov</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>33</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. chapter one</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Five inches. 53 stitches.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The bridge of her nose to the side of her right cheek was now a red, mangled bridge. And it was going to be there. Forever.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She wanted to slam her fist into the bathroom mirror.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Kit! The car's out front, we gotta get goin'!" Will's voice surged urgently up the staircase and she sighed. It was the third time he'd called for her in the past 15 minutes and she'd barely taken a step away from her sink. Her face in the mirror was a cratered anchor holding her in port, keeping her docked every time she built up the courage to walk away. If only that metaphor was actually physical enough to get her out of her current situation.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"C'mon, kiddo! We're gonna be late and I don't think Mr. Stark will appreciate that!"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Right. She </span>
  <em>
    <span>definitely</span>
  </em>
  <span> didn't need to be on Iron Man's shit list on top of everything else.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Glancing at her reflection, she forced a determined stare. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Let's get this fucking over with</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She pushed herself away from the sink and closed the door behind her as she made her way down the stairs of the apartment. Will was standing in the front doorway, the filter of morning light illuminating his tensed shoulders. He shot her an exasperated smile as he motioned to the car on the street below. "You ready?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She forced a nod. "Yup."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The look in his eyes softened as she followed him out the door, his hand resting on her shoulder. "Okay."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>As they approached the car, a man stepped around the front and held open the backseat door. "Mr. Cassidy, Miss Cassidy."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Miss Cassidy? Who was she, a preschool teacher?</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kit nodded slightly in greeting at the man and slid into the back of the car, wincing a bit as she scooted over for Will.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He raised an eyebrow as he buckled himself in. "You take your medication?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Yeah." </span>
  <em>
    <span>Not that it helps much anyway</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked for a moment as if he didn't buy it but thankfully left it alone, allowing her to lean her head against the window in peace. Maybe she'd manage to get a few minutes of anxiety-free rest before arriving in Upstate New York. She doubted it if only for the fact that she hadn't slept through the night since the accident.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Well, she couldn't really keep telling herself it was an accident. But she didn't know what else to call it. A heist? A terrorist attack? She supposed that what the Avengers were trying to find out by bringing her in to talk.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pepper Potts had contacted her about a week after she was released from the hospital. She showed up on their doorstep of their Brownstone and asked to speak with both her and Will. It might've taken some more convincing to leave the cocoon of her bedroom if it were anyone else, but it wasn't everyday Pepper Potts came knocking. So she found herself sitting on the living room couch, holding a cup of tea (coffee was off-limits much to her chagrin) and wondering if she was hearing things correctly as they came from Pepper's perfectly lined mouth.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She blinked. "He wants to do </span>
  <em>
    <span>what</span>
  </em>
  <span>?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Interview you." Pepper set down her own cup of tea and crossed her legs at the ankles. "To hopefully gain some perspective on the situation from someone who was there that day."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Something about that sentence caused dread to congeal in her stomach. "Is he interviewing other people?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I'm not at liberty to say. The Avengers' investigation is still on-going."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"… Investigation?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pepper smiled gently. "Don't worry, you're not accused of anything. Most of this is just standard procedure."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A few uncomfortable moments hung in the air.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"I don't…" Kit tried to swallow the lump of anxiety clenching her windpipe. "I don't think I'm the right person to talk to."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pepper seemed to mull over that thought for a moment before lacing her hands over her knees. "Why do you think so?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That was a question she wasn't expecting. "Uh… I'm just an intern." </span>
  <em>
    <span>Was an intern.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"That doesn't make your experience any less important. You were there, just the same as everyone else that day. And your experience was a unique one."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kit felt her pulse throb in the vein of her stitches. "Unique?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Another beat of silence crowded the space between them before Pepper spoke, her voice delicate. "Out of all the people on the 18th floor… you were the only one to survive the attack."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Someone was screaming.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>No… everyone was screaming. Too many.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>She dug her nails into the carpet of the supply closet so deeply she could feel them break.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Gunshot. Gunshot. Gunshot.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>There was no air, no air, she couldn't breathe, no air-</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>"Miss Cassidy?"</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked up to see Pepper's furrowed brow, her body leaned forward like she was afraid Kit would pass out.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her mouth felt like sandpaper.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kit guessed it was a good place to end the conversation from the way Pepper uncrossed her ankles. "You don't have to make your decision today; there's no pressure. I'll leave my number with you so you can decide in your own time."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Kit couldn't do anything but nod as Pepper stood from her chair, barely registering the feather-light squeeze to her shoulder as a pair of heels clicked past the couch. Some words were said to Will before the door opened and shut, and Kit heard the clicks descend down their front steps.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>That wasn't the only thing she heard.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>{God, Tony. You've done it now.}</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, kiddo-” Will’s hand on her shoulder jolted her awake, her forehead bumping against the car window as her eyes fluttered open. “We made it."</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She fought the urge to groan. A part of her had hoped that maybe they’d skip the interview all together but unfortunately it seemed the driver wasn’t one to stray from direct instruction. Instruction that came from the head of the Avengers, at least. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Shifting her gaze, she scanned the vast expanse of green surrounding them and followed the road above until she was met with a metal and glass monstrosity. She’d be exaggerating if she said it was the largest building she’d ever seen but the sheer size of the place was enough to make her stomach clench. It seemed to swallow up everything but the horizon line and a part of her wondered how the Avengers managed to conceal it from wandering eyes. She glanced at the trees blanketing miles beyond the clearing. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Well, at least it’s something.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, it </span>
  <em>
    <span>is </span>
  </em>
  <span>strange that nobody ever stumbles upon this place.They must have a hardcore security team.” Will said, interrupting her stream of thoughts. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She frowned. Didn’t remember saying that out loud. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Weird.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The car slowed to a stop before a set of metal doors and in front of them stood a familiar pencil skirt atop a pair of patent Loubitons. Pepper smiled as the driver got out to open the passenger door, greeting Will with a handshake as he stepped out onto the pavement. It took Kit a moment more to push herself across the leather seat but Pepper’s smile was no less vibrant as she outstretched her hand. “Welcome, Kit. I hope you enjoyed the car ride here.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>A smile tensed the corners of her mouth. “It was great.” </span>
  <em>
    <span>Liar</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Pepper thankfully accepted her lackluster greeting and motioned for them to follow her inside. Will shot Kit a reassuring grin, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and giving them a squeeze. The feeling of unease still hadn’t released her gut but having Will there at least made it bearable. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Ready?” He asked. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She looked up at him, mouth dry. “I guess so.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>And into the beast they went. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She knew this was supposed to be an interview but from where she sat, it felt more like an interrogation.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wasn’t in trouble. She wasn’t in trouble. She wasn’t in trouble.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will sat to her right, leaning back in a padded chair with one ankle resting across his knee. He gave her a little wink when she looked over at him and the normal part of her wanted to flip him the bird in response. But today was not a normal day, and she definitely didn’t feel normal anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Maybe it was the way things were set up that made her uneasy. For starters, she sat at the head of an obscenely long table, one that was shiny enough for her reflection to stare pallidly back at her and remind her of the stitches across her face. Neither Will or Pepper sat at the table beside her and it made her feel even more on display, like a lobotomized frog being readied for dissection. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>who</span>
  </em>
  <span> sat at the table that made her most uncomfortable of all.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony Stark had placed himself not in a chair but on the table itself, casually sipping a mug of coffee like he was chatting with a friend and not someone who had their life shot out from under them mere weeks ago. She didn’t know if his informality was supposed to put her at ease or be a reflection of the fact that he truly was as arrogant as he looked on TV. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She jerked her gaze to his face. “Hmm?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Mr. Stark raised an eyebrow, moving his glasses to sit on top of his head. “Worried we lost you there for a second.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry. I’m… distracted.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He offered her a smile. “Completely understandable, considering what you’ve been through.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>What she’d been through. She wished people would stop saying that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Speaking of which, let’s start by having you walk us through the events of that morning.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Something in her mouth dried at his words, turning her tongue to sand. “...Events?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. You mentioned in the police report that there you were supposed to attend a staff meeting that afternoon?”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Meeting. She had a meeting.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, she was going to be late. Again. Fucking fuck.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>11:56. Four minutes, four minutes, four minutes.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Stairs or Elevator?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Stairs. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>God, it was hot, why did it always have to be this hot? </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t trip, don’t trip, don’t trip, don’t trip-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Wait. Someone was screaming. Too many people were screaming.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Popping. Like balloons. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Balloon after balloon after balloon after balloon after</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A man from the floor below was yelling at her to hide.  His shirt was red. Not from dye.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hide, hide, everyone’s running, falling, screaming.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Storage closet. Ten feet away. There’s a lock.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Run.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Five seconds. Four, three, two, one-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She slammed the door shut behind her. Pushed at the lock, fingers shaking.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Her legs went numb- too much, too much, too much</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Back of the closet, huddled in the corner. She wanted to go home. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Will, Jake- she’d never get to say goodbye-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She let out a breath through her nose. “Yeah… I was running late. But it..it didn’t matter...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony let her silence settle, taking another languid sip of coffee before prodding, “Why?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Because…” The word felt thick in her mouth. “There were gunshots.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Hours. Hours and hours and hours of popping.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Probably only minutes but she couldn’t tell.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Memories swam in her mind, covering her current reality like a fog. “And I hid… until the windows.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>There were footsteps, heavy footsteps. Outside the door. Too close, too close-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Go away. Please go away.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A shadow. Black shoes. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Go away go away go away</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Whoever it was shook the door handle. Once, twice. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Go away </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>They shook it again</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Go away </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>And again </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>GO AWAY GO AWAY JUMP OUT THE FUCKING WINDOW ASSHOLES GET OUT GO AWAY</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Silence.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Then glass. Shattering. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She crawled to the door. Peaked through the crack. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A figure in black walked through the jagged shards of the front windows.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>What the fuck?</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>All of them. People with guns. Her coworkers. Everyone.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Piling through the window.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Falling down down down down-</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Her supervisor. Michelle. Fire red hair walking calmly to the building’s edge.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Stop her, go STOP HER</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She left the closet. Somehow. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Ran to Michelle. Hands around her arm, pulling her back inside. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>She leaned against what was left of the window.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Come on come on, don’t fall, don’t fall</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Her shoulder popped out of its socket. Michelle slipped. Something tore through her cheek.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Then her hands were empty.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fire red hair. Pummeling towards the sidewalk. Bodies following in her wake.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>No. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>NO.</em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Vomit surged up her throat at the memory. She launched out of her seat, bile pooling in her </span>
  <span>mouth, and managed to kneel beside a potted fern before her stomach emptied. Footsteps shuffled behind her; she felt a hand on her back, the other sweeping some hair out of her face as another wave of nausea crashed. Her stitches throbbed with every clench of her stomach and some irrational part of her thought it might split her face in two. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesus, is she alright?” Tony Stark’s voice floated over from the table, presumably where he still sat drinking his goddamn coffee.  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Pepper sighed. “Tony-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Does she </span>
  <em>
    <span>look</span>
  </em>
  <span> alright to you?” Will snapped, his hand still rubbing circles on her back. “She’s vomiting into a plant for Christ’s sake.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I can see that. We’ll get her some water and-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do what, Tony? Make her keep reliving what she went through? You already know what happened.”</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Uh… since when were her uncle and Tony Stark on a fucking first name basis?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Behind her, Will huffed. “You know what- I changed my mind. This was a bad idea, I’m taking her home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>An exasperated sigh. “We agreed, Will. There’s been an attempt on her </span>
  <em>
    <span>life</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hands gripped the edge of the ceramic pot. It hadn’t been just an attempt on her life; it’d been an attempt on the entire building’s life. And they succeeded because everyone she worked with was dead. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nausea slammed her stomach like a freight train, hunching her body over the soiled dirt. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Obviously she’s still recovering from it.” She felt Will’s hand run over her hair once, smoothing it back from the sweat pooling at her crown. “She needs time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Steps crossed the floor over to where they were, steady and purposeful. “She doesn’t have time. She needs to know exactly what she’s up against, and the only way she’ll know is if we tell her.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How about we tell her when she’s not throwing up, Tony.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, maybe if we hadn’t waited until she was twenty three years old, this could’ve been avoided.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“God, you’re </span>
  <em>
    <span>such</span>
  </em>
  <span> an ass-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Please-” Kit gasped, gulping a few deep breaths. “Can both of you just… just shut up?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, the room fell quiet and she felt some of her nausea dissipate. Which would've been good if it weren’t for the fact that cold spikes of dread were now impaling her body because what in the actual </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck</span>
  </em>
  <span> did she just walk into. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>From everything she’d heard in the past few minutes, she definitely wasn’t there for an interview. Lie number one. She also hadn’t been fucking aware that Will and Tony Stark knew each other on some level. Lie number two.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>How many fucking lies are there?</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She lifted her head towards Will, his worried eyes meeting hers, and said, “Tell me what’s going on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The crease between his eyebrows deepened. “We need to get you home.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t want to go home.” Fear disguised as anger coated her voice as she leveled her gaze at him.  “I want to know what the hell is going on here.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A pause.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will looked to Tony. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony looked down. Sighed once. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then, raising his eyes to her, he said, “Unfortunately, kid... you're not who you think you are.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>She wasn’t sure what the appropriate response to that statement was.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Judging from the looks of everyone in the room, it definitely wasn’t crazed laughter.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that only made her laugh harder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ohhkay, asshole,” She said between laughs, “what the fuck is that supposed to mean?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony didn’t respond and she thought if this was the first time he’d been rendered speechless.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>When still no explanation came, she raised an amused brow. “You can’t come at me with some shitty YA novel line and expect me to roll with it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Katherine. Language.” Will withered a look her way, arms crossed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A scoff ripped up her throat. “Come on, how could he know anything about me? I just met him.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to think better of it as he closed it. It was another few moments before he started again. “Well… that’s not exactly true.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now it was her turn to fall silent. She, out of all the people in the world, had met Tony Stark more than once. At least twice, according to this new information but who knows how many times it was in actuality? Not to mention the fact that she </span>
  <em>
    <span>didn’t remember any of it.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The nausea started to swirl again. “I... I don’t understand. I don’t remember-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Kid…” Tony sighed, reeling Kit’s gaze to him. “I knew your mom.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything halted for a moment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her mother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her </span>
  <em>
    <span>dead</span>
  </em>
  <span> mother.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Grace Cassidy had been a difficult topic for most of Kit’s life, due to the fact that she knew the woman for all of five years. She was passed onto Will just before her fifth birthday and he became her life. It felt jarring to her at that time even though she couldn't understand the situation. She once had a mother; then she didn't. And it never quite clicked in her mind. Sure, she knew after a couple years that her mom wasn’t coming back but the feeling of her lingered. Sometimes she thought she could hear a hum from the kitchen, or that she felt a wisp through the ends of her hair, but it was always her imagination. Misty fragments of a child’s memory.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kit felt her face grow hot. “How did you know her?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Will shifted in the corner of her eye, clearing his throat. “I don’t think we should go about it like this-”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>No.</span>
  </em>
  <span>” She snapped at Will but kept her gaze to Tony. “He’s telling me now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony stared back at her in silence and it only made her heart pump faster, rattling her ribcage. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We had… a relationship.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kit frowned. “And?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Jesus...” He sighed, closing his eyes and pinching the bridge of his nose. “This isn’t the time for you to hear this.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She wanted to scream. Forced herself to swallow instead.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just </span>
  <em>
    <span>tell me</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He kept his eyes to the floor. “It resulted in you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything reeled to a halt, almost as if the universe had pressed pause on a TV remote. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There she stood. Tony across from her, Will beside her, Pepper somewhere by the conference table. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Somehow she was also not there. Retreating into the recesses of her mind while she tried to process what just happened.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>No. No way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>No </span>
  <em>
    <span>fucking</span>
  </em>
  <span> way.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The rubber band of shock snapped away into a million different emotions; confusion, hurt, anger, betrayal. Her body couldn't seem to decide between screaming or crying or running away, and instead stood silent. All she could process was the fact that her life, at least in part, was a lie. Every single person in that room had lied to her up until this moment and she wondered maybe if she stayed still enough, the room would fade away and take her with it.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kit swallowed, dryness scratching her throat. “Please tell me there’s nothing else..”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Tony glanced over to Will and then Pepper before turning back to her. He seemed almost exhausted as he stared and it sparked a flush of anger in her gut. Was this all too hard for </span>
  <em>
    <span>him?</span>
  </em>
  <span> Pretending she didn't exist for the past twenty three years and then dropping a huge bomb on her after the worst event of her life? Poor fucking Tony Stark; she’d help him all the way to a fist in the face.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A face that was now opening its mouth to say, “We can talk about this another time.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ha. How convenient.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Apparently you’ve had at least eighteen years to tell me the truth. Time’s up.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Honey..” Will had made his way to her side at some point during their conversation and rested his hand gently on her shoulder. “You don’t have to do this now. It’s your choice.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She barked a laugh. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>My</span>
  </em>
  <span> choice? What part of any of this was my choice? You lied to get me here!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And you lied, both of you!” Her head snapped to Tony and Pepper, voice pointed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Anger simmered hot under the surface of her skin and she blew a puff of air through her nose. “So. What we’re not going to do is keep lying to me. I’m over it; its over.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In fact, it was so over that five seconds into all of them staring mutely at her, she decided to get the heck out of that conference room. Turned on her heel and marched right out through that stupid glass door and towards the stupidly shiny elevator. Her reflection mocked her with it’s clown red face, only further accentuating the crater plowing through it. She felt tears threaten her lower lash line but thankfully the elevator doors opened before they fell. As soon as she was inside, her hand slapped to the ‘close’ button and pushed rapidly until the doors finally shut.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>{</span>
  <em>
    <span>I knew I shouldn't have brought her here. Imagine if I’d sent her alone, fucking hell-}</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She placed her hands over her ears, not unlike a child. If she could hear Will through all that metal, she didn't want to imagine what he sounded like to Tony and Pepper. Though, he didn't necessarily </span>
  <em>
    <span>sound</span>
  </em>
  <span> like he was yelling-</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The doors opened abruptly and without knowing where she landed or why, she hurried into the room before her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And slammed immediately into a brick wall.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>A brick wall that somehow possessed the ability to grunt.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck- I mean, sorry..” She said, stepping around the boulder between her and whatever this room was. If only to protect what was left of her dignity, she kept her head down and scattered away before anything else could be said.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>{</span>
  <em>
    <span>Who the hell is that?}</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a deep, husky voice that uttered the sentence and for a moment she paused. There was no reason for him to say something like that out loud. But she </span>
  <em>
    <span>had</span>
  </em>
  <span> heard him, so he must have spoken it. It was like he had snuck up beside her and whispered into her ear, his voice clear and unmuffled by any other sound. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kit whipped herself around, heart racing in uncertainty and she almost expected him to be standing right in front of her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But… he was gone. Almost like a ghost.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Instead, Will came rushing in through a side door, face red from exertion. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She felt the foreign urge to run as soon as she saw him. He was the person she usually ran </span>
  <em>
    <span>to</span>
  </em>
  <span> in times of trouble and yet all she wanted to do was sprint away. She was about to do just that when the look on his face made her pause.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>This was the first time Kit had seen Will afraid. The expression made him look years younger, as if he was the child in the scenario and not the adult who raised her. It put a pit of ice in her stomach and cemented her feet in place, allowing him to walk over to where she stood. When he reached her, he stayed a few paces away. She assumed it was because he wanted to give her space and while she was grateful for it, somehow it still felt wrong. They were both so… out of place. And the worst part was she didn’t know how to fix it. Will didn’t seem like he knew how to either.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was the first to speak, sadness and regret pooling in his eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s time I told you the truth about your mom.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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